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Friday, September 11, 2015

Each year we publish Oregon Wage Information (OWI), which provides wages for more than 700 occupations in Oregon.

In addition to providing average wages, the OWI tables also provide a range of wages -- from the 10th percentile to the 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentile -- for each occupation. These wage range percentiles give data users a good handle on typical pay for entry-level workers at one end and for experienced workers at the other end.

For example, forensic science technicians earn an average of $29.43 per hour. The median (50th percentile) hourly wage for forensic science technicians in Oregon is $30.28. At the low end (10th percentile), they earn $19.42 per hour and at the high end (90th percentile), they earn $37.89 per hour.

The chart provides a look at wages by geographical area rather than occupation. The blue bars start and end at the 10th and 90th percentiles, and the median wage is indicated. While jobs in some occupations certainly pay outside of these ranges (e.g., minimum wage jobs or jobs in high-level executive occupations), the bulk of occupational wages fall in these ranges.

The southwestern corner of Oregon, which includes Coos, Curry, and Douglas counties, shows the lowest median hourly wage ($14.88) in 2015. Meanwhile the Portland Metro area, made up of Multnomah and Washington counties, has the highest median hourly wage ($19.48). Only Clackamas County and the Portland Metro workforce areas report a higher median wage than Oregon statewide.

You can find more information (and Excel tables!) with OWI data at QualityInfo.org in the Oregon Wage Information box on the Publications Page.

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Welcome to the Oregon Employment blog, brought to you by the Research Division of the Oregon Employment Department. We love studying the economy, helping the public, and using numbers all day long! Feel free to ask questions and leave comments because we're here to help!